IU Northwest School of Business and Economics Dean Cynthia Roberts presented Joseph Willis with his MBA in a hospital ceremony.

This story was covered by: NWI Times, WGN Chicago, CBS Chicago, Fox 32, ABC 7 Chicago, NBC Chicago

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“I just have a lot of passion. I love people, I love the world, and I want my passion to be felt by everybody, so I just work hard, try hard and keep on smiling,” – Joseph Willis

Gary, Ind. -- On May 10, 2018, Indiana University Northwest student Joseph Willis, 26, of Munster, was planning to participate in IU Northwest’s 52^nd Commencement ceremony to receive his master of business administration (MBA) degree. Unfortunately, complications from a heart transplant he received two years prior landed him in the hospital on graduation day.

 IU Northwest's School of Business and Economics Dean Cynthia Roberts came to  the hospital celebration  organized by UChicago Medicine and his family to personally present Willis with his diploma—even though she had to preside at IU Northwest's ceremony in Gary, Ind., just four hours later.

To an audience of loved ones, hospital staff and journalists, Willis expressed his gratitude and recounted his journey to graduation, which had come with significant health struggles. 

While getting his undergraduate degree in athletic training from IU Bloomington, doctors discovered a severe heart problem.

“When I was 21, I was diagnosed with heart failure. Only 10 percent of blood flow was getting pumped through my body. I was on a lot of medication that made me woozy and dizzy and it was hard to focus. Then, I found out I had two golf ball-sized blood clots in my left ventricle.”

Despite these hardships, Willis graduated from IU Bloomington in 2015. A year later, he received a heart transplant. Not long after that, he enrolled at IU Northwest for his MBA. He was determined to complete his degree despite his health struggles, and his positive outlook is unshakeable.

“I just have a lot of passion. I love people, I love the world, and I want my passion to be felt by everybody, so I just work hard, try hard and keep on smiling,” he said.

Strong IU Connections

Willis’s mother, Beverly, beamed by his side during the celebration. Employed by a local church in Gary, the single mother is also an IU Northwest alumna, having graduated with her degree in accounting in 1982. Willis has a twin brother, Joshua who graduated from IU Bloomington and works in Indianapolis. His other brother, James, is a graduate of Indiana University – Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI) who works in the Information Technology field in Indianapolis. Willis intends to pursue a career in hospital management and work with the people and organizations behind organ transplant cases.

Born in Georgia but raised in East Chicago and later in Gary, all three boys attended Munster High School.

Beverly Willis says her son remained in good spirits throughout his journey and recent hospital stay.

“God is still good,” she said. “When you connect with people who are positive, that force comes to you. We just think about the positive and not the negative. Stand on the work of God and you’ve got to go from there.”

Beverly and Joseph Willis